FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Gray Fox]

Looking forward to a road trip to University of Chicago Labor Day weekend.  Great way to start the season.  Go Stags!

Its a lovely campus. Still can't believe they decided to drop the WashU series...

Looking forward to a road trip to University of Chicago Labor Day weekend.  Great way to start the season.  Go Stags!

Plus, you get to see the "new" Stagg Field (named after the "Grand Old Man" Amos Alonzo Stagg, long time U of Chicago fb coach, which also has a pair of the original doors from the old Stagg Field stadium. You can also see the original first Heisman trophy awarded to the late Jay Betwanger, which is displayed in their athletic building. I had the privilege of meeting/visiting with Mr. Berwamger for over 4 hours many years ago before he passed away. A really nice gentleman. Anyway, you will enjoy the campus visit. Just be careful of the outlying surrounding area.

Chicago's Met Lab and the Manhattan Project. On December 2, 1942, scientists at the University of Chicago produced the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction beneath the West Stand of Stagg Field, the University's athletic stadium.

[formerd3db]

Looking forward to a road trip to University of Chicago Labor Day weekend.  Great way to start the season.  Go Stags!

Its a lovely campus. Still can't believe they decided to drop the WashU series...

Looking forward to a road trip to University of Chicago Labor Day weekend.  Great way to start the season.  Go Stags!

Plus, you get to see the "new" Stagg Field (named after the "Grand Old Man" Amos Alonzo Stagg, long time U of Chicago fb coach, which also has a pair of the original doors from the old Stagg Field stadium. You can also see the original first Heisman trophy awarded to the late Jay Betwanger, which is displayed in their athletic building. I had the privilege of meeting/visiting with Mr. Berwamger for over 4 hours many years ago before he passed away. A really nice gentleman. Anyway, you will enjoy the campus visit. Just be careful of the outlying surrounding area.

Chicago's Met Lab and the Manhattan Project. On December 2, 1942, scientists at the University of Chicago produced the world's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction beneath the West Stand of Stagg Field, the University's athletic stadium.

Indeed, GF. There is a monument there and although U of C's main library is on the site, one can still see lawn portions where the original Stagg Field was. Comparing that to old photos, it is really neat and one can imagine what it was like back in the day. Certainly a lot to see in addition to enjoying the game there. Thanks for sharing the history lesson with us!

[StagLove]

Thanks!

[Jack Parkman]

Interesting....

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-12/whittier-college-president-resigns-amid-financial-troubles-plunging-enrollment

[Gray Fox]

https://savewhittiercollege.com/home-2/letter-to-kenya-williams/statement-of-no-confidence-president-oubre/

[10Freeway]

It is very sad that higher ed has basically become a ponzi scheme.  If they are not constantly building enrollment and escalating tuition, the places will fail.  Private schools need to have people that have success in the business world running their financials and not the Bud Light advertisers of the world.

[SagatagSam]

Interesting....

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-12/whittier-college-president-resigns-amid-financial-troubles-plunging-enrollment

I thought this paragraph was interesting:

Oubré declined an interview request. She said in her annual college address that Whittier was "financially strong and not in danger of closing."

It sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank Chair, or Secretary of the Treasury says "we have no concerns of _____________," which may be a recession, inflation, or high unemployment. Then, a month later the whole thing blows up in their face.

I'm not saying that is what will happen with Whittier, but it seems a bit strange to offer that in an annual address. The space between financially strong and closure is a pretty wide gulf. Acknowledging both in the same sentence (even if for the purposes of eliminating one as a possibility) tends to undermine the positive statement of strength.

It would be like saying, "I'm the healthiest I have ever been in my life, and I am in no danger of dying of cancer." OK, but hearing you say that makes me think you might have a cancer of some kind--maybe--and that this needs to be addressed.

At the end of the day this whole house of cards that is modern higher education in the United States is going to fall on some disastrously hard times. I suspect there will be some schools that close which no one saw coming. I guess we will simply have to hold our collective breath and hope its not our respective alma mater.

[10Freeway]

I agree.  Most of theses schools operate on razor thin margins and any dip in enrollment hurts their bottom lines.  Small class sizes means that you need a lot of expensive faculty and resources for students.  Selling of assets, as Whittier is, is a last ditch effort to pay bills.

[Dr. Doolittle]

It is clear that these small schools in the SCIAC are losing because of the direction that the leadership are taking them.  They are not focused on the student, but the appearance of woke mentality, inclusion and equity.  These do not make your school better, bigger, or more money.  They are all losing male enrollment and sports!  My son's graduation Friday from CLU was difficult to listen to the Dean speak about the injustices that these private school kids have overcome and how they will change the world for equity and inclusion. 

[Gray Fox]

A long article on future demographics of colleges.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23428166/college-enrollment-population-education-crash

[SagatagSam]

A long article on future demographics of colleges.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23428166/college-enrollment-population-education-crash

"Grawe projects that, despite the overall demographic decline, demand for national four-year universities on the West Coast will increase by more than 7.5 percent between now and the mid-2030s."

I find this part interesting considering all we hear about outside of California, which is the first thing I think of when I hear "West Coast," (Sorry Washington and Oregon) is how the place is basically emptying out in terms of domestic migration. Obviously the large, big name national universities (like Stanford, UCLA, Cal-Berkley, USC, etc.) will still have power because they don't depend so much on the local market. But, what about schools like Whittier and Cal Lutheran? La Verne? What percentage of the classes at those schools are typically from California? If it's anything like my alma mater (St. John's in Minnesota) I'd guess around 85%+. My big concern if I'm a SCIAC member is what happens when your region is a net loser for domestic migration and you have the enrollment cliff hit you? A inconvenient perfect storm. And, it's not just California. I'd be terrified if I were a school in Illinois. Things are so bad in Illinois that they have been calling the phenomenon "the Illinois Exodus" for nearly a decade. Moreover, the State of New York, especially since 2020, has been gutted as have many places in the upper Atlantic coast and New England.

[Gray Fox]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Medaille University announced it will be closing this summer, following the termination of its integration deal with Trocaire College last week.

The official last date for the school will be Aug. 31.

Medaille cited "financial instability, declining enrollment, outstanding liabilities, and other challenges that are impacting institutions of higher education across the region, state and nationally" as its reasons for closing.

[SagatagSam]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Medaille University announced it will be closing this summer, following the termination of its integration deal with Trocaire College last week.

The official last date for the school will be Aug. 31.

Medaille cited "financial instability, declining enrollment, outstanding liabilities, and other challenges that are impacting institutions of higher education across the region, state and nationally" as its reasons for closing.

[10Freeway]

This is how delusional schools are.  Lets live in a tuition deficit until the enrollment numbers come back up.  That is a recipe for disaster.  Especially if the alumni give less and less money.  UR is in that boat. 

https://businesswest.com/blog/hampshire-college-capital-campaign-aims-to-build-a-stable-future/

[SagatagSam]

This is how delusional schools are.  Lets live in a tuition deficit until the enrollment numbers come back up.  That is a recipe for disaster.  Especially if the alumni give less and less money.  UR is in that boat. 

https://businesswest.com/blog/hampshire-college-capital-campaign-aims-to-build-a-stable-future/

What do they use to pay expenses? Endowment? Sunshine and giggles?